TCR DAY 14 – Three days to finish: beast mode on.

A gruppetto of riders was planning an early ascent of Bjelasniča at dawn. In a mix of fatigue and nervousness, we gathered silently in front of CP4 hotel. The first three to leave were Isobel Jobling, Ive Weygers and myself. We discovered heavy wet gravel paths that let us no choice: move faster or dismount. This parcours was nothing for our skinny road tires. I was focused on saving my 25’’ Conti GP4000 from a puncture until we got passed by a speedy Charles Billau. With ultra light body and setup, he fought his way up the mountain. We were impressed, but I decided to go and catch him. 😁 Months of D+ in Spain paid off and I beat him on pure cardio. We took misty photos of each other at the top before descending at good speed. I still couldn’t believe my tires were resisting. During coffee at the hotel, the big discussion was about reaching Meteora before the party. Some thought it was impossible, others wanted to try. 800km in less than 3 days? Let’s go!

Without losing any time, I reached the main road to Montenegro and rode up the few passes at high tempo. I shared a meal with Christopher Teasdale down the road. When Meg Pugh and Isobel Jobling zoomed by, we left off. These two were definitely going for it! The valley snaked down to the Montenegrine border, overlooking the emerald river Tara. The border crossing was the most chaotic I had ever seen. All traffic had to pass a single-track wooden bridge. I however passed the queues and took a picture on the bridge. Then followed a jaw-dropping series of tunnels and bridges in Pivo canyon before the climb of Pluzine. Dark clouds gathered and I was soon cycling in heavy rain. I went on and descended to places where it was dry. In Niksič I passed Douglas Migden resting at a terrace (I think I called him Dog instead of Doug). Then followed a very nice present: 40km of smooth descent until Podgorica. Free miles. Daniel & Guillermo were resting in a field nearby. I went on to cross the Albanian border and pedaled until Shkodra, hungry and helpless in a dark emptiness. The first hotel got me.

302km080 – 13h53 – 21,8km/h – 2935m up

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#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54

TCR STATS – My first participation in numbers

• 3998,88 km cycled in 15d 19h 59m (that’s 253km per day)
• 36.044 vertical meters according to Wahoo, or 54.032 according to Strava.
• 20 countries visited, including 3 funny detours to Liechtenstein, Serbia and Macedonia.
• Average temperature of 26°C, with three days above 30°C (AVERAGE!!)
• Average riding speed: 22,6 km/h. Number of hours slept per night: 8 (breakfast and checkout included).
• Potatoe hearts drawn on the map: 1.
• Naked selfies taken for wife’s birthdays: 1.
• Animals seen on the way: deer, frogs, hares, badgers, lizzards, foxes, eagles, turtles, sticky swarms of flies, many dogs…
• Number of punctures, mechanicals, tracker issues: 0.
• End position: 82nd single rider, 98th human crossing the finish line.
• Items lost: sleeping bag (went back 10km to get it), helmet (another rider brought it), lock (stayed at CP3), flipflops (somewhere in Greece).
• Best musical mix: « Wild boys » pronounced « Wild boars » mixed with the jingle of « Who’s gonna drive you home tonight ».
• Finisher’s Parties made: 1.
• Inspirational people met on the way: countless

START OF THE RACE >

START OF THE RACE >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #transcontinental #statistics #stats #ultracycling#cycling #wanderlust #bikestagram #fromwhereiride #roadslikethese #nature#tunnel #mountains #mountain #landscape #landscapes #landscapelover#montenegro #bemoremike #cyclinglife #outsideisfree

TCR DAY 1 – Ardennes to Lorraine, first encounter with my limits.

My first Transcontinental Race started weirdly with cycling 10km upstream to retrieve my lost sleeping bag. Entering Geraardsbergen again, I heard a familiar voice with a local Flemish accent « That’s verrry strange: a Jaegher riding down the Muur. » Kristof Allegaert himself accompanied me while I was searching my belongings. Finally @cycling_bear had it. After a quick chat with the organisers and Instagram friend Thijs Ligt, I finally started my race… in pursuit mode.

The first unfortunate riders (with a puncture) were met in Enghien. On the long dark roads I caught up with the little flickering red lights one by one. None of the riders were very talkative at this point. Namur was the last possibility to buy drinks. Jan Trouvé had the same idea. We had our first live chat before we both followed the Meuse valley to Dinant, a road I’ve done about 10x already, before climbing the brutal massif of Famenne to Celles and Wellin. At 4am it was time for a short nap. This had been a long and stressful day.

I woke up after 2 hours in race mode, thinking that everything was still possible, and started riding right away. Behind every bush there was a TCR rider sleeping. Quite a funny sight that reminded me of Monty Python’s marathon for incontinents (Incontinental Race?). At the end of the Ardennes @thetranscontinental crew was parked at a gas station. I met race organiser Juliana Buhring and got podcasted. After that, the heat started to ask its toll. I moved on in bits of 20km.

Dotwatchers at home were discovering the joys of tracking my every gesture. « Sebi is stopping at Deli Traiteur now. » After crossing Luxembourg in 35+ temperatures, the North of France saw me hitting a physical wall. Where I usually enjoy to climb, I was now watching every hill with fear. First I took a nap, then a break to eat, but it didn’t help. This was the moment to sleep correctly. End of my illusions. I took a room in Saint-Avold and slept almost 10h.

336km470 – 14h10 – 23,7km/h – 4367m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #utracycling #ultratourist #cycling #roadcycling #cyclinglife #cyclingphotos #cyclingshots #roadslikethese #fromwhereiride #belgium #ardennes #lorraine #luxembourg #france #nature #naturephotography #instadaily #dailygram #bikestagram #igerscycling

TCR DAY 2 – Alsace, Schwarzwald, Konstanz. Finding a race rhythm.

After an indecently long night of 10 hours (!), I felt guilty of sleeping so much during a race. Today HAD to be a massive day, or I’d better register for an ultrasleeping race next time! The hills rolled gently towards Strasbourg, and I hydrated and fed my body properly (in Vescheim, I had one of the best peach tarts I ever ate). I knew I needed to have FUN to stay focused, so I treated myself to a touristical visit of La Petite France, the ancient centre of Strasbourg.

Entering Germany, the temperatures were ridiculously high again and I kept drinking (probably 12 litres that day). The climate became bearable in the approach of the Schwarzwald and the tail wind was helping. I met quite a lot of riders on the way up, among who Ive Weygers, Svenja Schrade and people whose name I can’t remember. Once at the top, I kept my breaks short and managed to reach Konstanz Lake minutes after midnight. There I found a city park with lake view and lay down for a very inefficient night. But I was within schedule.

302km010 – 12h01 – 25,8km/h – 2343m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #ultracycling #ultratourist #wanderlust #cycling #fromwhereiride #roadslikethese #outsideisfree #instadaily #dailygram #igerscycling #cyclinglife #cyclingshots #cyclingphotos #nature #strasbourg #france #germany #alsace #elzas #schwarzwald #constanz #badenwuerttemberg

TCR DAY 3 – Back in the race, reaching the Alps and CP1.

After a poor night, with a view on Konstanz lake, I took off in the misty morning. Dozens of cycling commuters were joining me on the scenic route to the German-Swiss border city of Konstanz. I crossed into Switzerland on a complicated web of flyovers and bike paths. From there on, it was easy: following the South bank of the lake until there was no lake. I met the impressive Anna Petters again and had my first chat with Douglas Migden, whom I didn’t suspect would become one of my strongest competitors. When I saw a sign to Liechtenstein, I couldn’t resist, and the #ultratourist in me woke up: I rode a detour of 8km to « check the box ».

One more country in, I started climbing the long valley leading to CP1. 50km into Austria, I took a long ice cream break where I met friendly co-racer Clement Venus and forgot my helmet. He brought it up. Big stress: what did I have to do to respect the spirit of the race aka Rule number 10? I warned the race direction and waited for my friend Clement to come by. (THANK YOU!) We both reached CP1 and took a break from the scorching heat outside.

A pizza later I took on the mandatory Parcours over 2000m high Silvretta Pass. The skies became very dark and near the peaks, lightning started striking. I remembered that I was riding a steel frame. But the storm stayed 1 or 2km away so I pushed on to the top. No welcome committee there. I added an extra layer and rode down to Ischgl, shivering from the wind. The banned tunnels were an extra difficulty, since I was chasing down at 40kph. I avoided the three first tunnels, but missed the little road in the middle of the 4th. Actually, I’m still looking for the middle of the tunnel now.

The road descended further to Landeck, where many riders were taking shelter. Berk Okyay and Ghirtoi Daniel decided to pedal further. But a storm was coming and I preferred to stay at friendly Hotel Schrofenstein who were prepared to welcome tired riders. A pleasant night in a dry room, when it was raining outside.

231km580 – 10h34 – 21,9km/h – 2392m up

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#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #ultracycling #nature #cycling #wanderlust #instadaily#dailygram #badenwuerttenberg #konstanz #constance #switzerland#liechtenstein #vorarlberg #austria #österreich #silvretta #bielerhohe

TCR DAY 4 – A long mountain ride on familiar roads.

The morning sky was beautiful. I had done well to take a room. A few bowls of excellent muesli later I was on the road again. The bike paths to Innsbruck were very pleasant. I was amazed to meet Anna Petters again. She had done the Silvrettapass at night and got stuck in a storm up there with ten other riders. I somehow made the vow that I’d be unreachable by tonight. So I pushed on up the Brenner, into Italy and up the Val Pustina. 130km of roads I had already followed on my way to Dubrovnik in 2014. On my lunch break I had a pleasant chat with Simon Hayward and Douglas Migden.

The broader area of Brunico was tricky because we were strongly encouraged to take the gravel bike paths for the whole 60km. That took a lot of patience because of the many detours, but I strictly followed the rules and enjoyed jaw-dropping views over the Dolomites. Please remind me to live there if I don’t move by myself. Once in Austria again I went down the 40km to the next big city of Lienz. A very fine rain started to fall and I ended up soaked. Once in Lienz, the traditional race for shelter, food and hygiene started. It became: Hotel Sonne, good pizza and a warm shower.

264km530 – 11h16 – 23,5km/h – 1879m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #cycling #ultracycling #austria #italy #italia #nature#mountain #mountains #mountainlovers #insearchofup #cyclinglife#igerscycling #dailygram #instadaily #wanderlust #ultratourist #brenner#trentinoaltoadige #dolomiti #dolomites #naturephotography #landscape#landscapes #landscapelovers #landscapephotography #travel #travelphoto

TCR DAY 7 – Signs of exhaustion. Naked photography for motivation.

I woke up on a parking, in the heat of the morning sun, with genuine panda eyes. Riding on so long had been silly because now my legs were T-O-A-S-T. I looked so tired that friends spontaneously called me to know if I was fine. With cotton legs, I left the Alps and crossed the Danube. A storm brought cool weather in the following climb. I passed a suffering Roberto Baldassi with my flipflops. Then I stopped in a field of the « grass is greener » kind. While I changed my outfit, I got the idea to send my wife a funny birthday card. What if… my naked cycling body became the X in « Joyeux Anniveraire »? 😁 I had come to the point that I didn’t care to be seen naked by the road side.

Then I pushed on to the Thaya region (wearing my kit again), and crossed the CZ border together with Berk Okyay. This day had started poorly, but I had to keep the average! To motivate my legs and reassure my head, I booked a hotel 30km in advance. The closest point of light seemed to be the city of Telč. When I arrived shortly before 23h, I was amazed by the sudden beauty of this place. The market place of UNESCO-listed Telč was full of people, there was a classical concert on the lake and my hotel was a beautiful medieval building. I felt sorry for Berk, who was sleeping on a village square 5km away.

200km070 – 08h49 – 22,7km/h – 2139m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #ultracycling #ultratourist #cycling #wymtm #tired#exhaustion #nakedphotography #austria #österreich #thaya #czech #czechia#telc #wanderlust #mountains #mountain #danube #insearchofup #alps#outsideisfree #igerscycling #instadaily #dailygram

TCR DAY 8 – Since we’re here, why not draw a heart on the map?

I woke up like a baby in Penzion U Hrabenky. My kit was washed and dry, I had normal eyes and the sun was shining. So I piled up the morning miles on the gently rolling hills of Czech Republic. The roads were rural and pleasant. A school mate Julie Depuydt whom I hadn’t seen since 20 years got in touch with me when she heard that I was riding the TCR. It was cool to know that she had also become a bike-addict. Approaching the cities of Pardubice and Hradek Kralove, my ELEMNT gps started showing other riders on the screen: I saw Christopher Teasdale and from the other side of the road, Nico Deportago-Cabrera read my name from his screen « Heyyy Sebastien! » Some riders seemed to go the wrong direction. It took me a few minutes to realise that they were 1 day ahead of me, and heading South! A bit further, in the most paved town ever (Jaromer) I had a pleasant chat with Anisa Aubin, competing for women’s gold.

I crossed the Polish border, but didn’t ride to CP3 in a straight line. Since I was here, at the top of what seemed to be the horn of a Rhino, why not draw something nice? My wife and friends saw my dot moving deeper into Poland and wondered if I got lost. On the field, I tried my best to draw with my dot, despite the hunger and the dark. I reached the start of CP3 parcours little before midnight, hoping to find some place to eat. NOTHING. The Control Point (that I pictured like a big party with roasted chicken) was AFTER the parcours, 800m higher, and I didn’t feel like climbing « Poland’s steepest road » hungry at night.

But the mood changed when co-racers Matthieu Lifschitz and Aimerick Stani showed up super-motivated. We celebrated Matthieu’s birthday and almost broke into the gas station before ride/walking to the top. Around 2AM, we were delighted to arrive at the control point, where 15 other riders were sleeping. Benevolent Pawel Pavlovski could not believe that I was racing the TCR with my trainers. He took a funny picture and sent it to the group.

285km830 – 12h54 – 22,0km/h – 3018m up

NEXT DAY >

NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #transcontinental #cycling #czech #poland#karkonosze #mountains #roadslikethese #fromwhereiride #wanderlust#landscape #mountain #travel

TCR DAY 9 – Leaving CP3. Plains are not easier than mountains.

The morning at CP3 in Poland was probably my happiest morning of #tcrno6. The moments on the sunlit terrace perched on a mountain top at 1200m remembered me of Scouts camps. I had breakfast with the inspiring volunteers Angela Walker, Pawel Pulawski Jean-Pierre Mlodynia-Zink, Zygmunt Kulczyna and felt like I had already accomplished something, even though I was only half way. I left with a big smile… and without my lock. One descent later I started to draw the final line of my TCR (he)artwork. A love symbol dedicated to the 4 women of my family who always supported me: Agnesya Bangun, Agnès Nolens-Nélis, M-Emily Nolens and Camille.

In Kralove nad Labem I was queuing for a pizza when local energy bar producer Chimp Bars recognised me. We had a few slices of pizza together and talked about the race. With renewed energy I plunged back into the heat of the Czech plains and lost a bit of time on backroads with heavy plum trees. A proper meal was what I needed! In the next city, I had a pizza and booked a room in Brno, 100km away. With this technique, I was sure to get the miles in, and to sleep well. But it also meant long and scary night rides. On this long time trial, I met the friendly @cyclingbros (Guillermo & Daniel) again. I must have looked very motivated, because I had a comfy destination. Around 0:30AM I reached the sleepy Moravian capital and crashed down in my tacky hotel room. They had Fanta and Mars bars to ease my hungry stomach.

240km730 – 09h52 – 24,4km/h – 1445m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6cap54 #transcontinental #ultracycling #cycling #cyclinglife #poland #czech #moravia #karkonosze #brno #roadslikethese #fromwhereiride #landscape #landscapes #travel #nature #instadaily #dailygram #igerscycling #cyclingshots #cyclingphotos #bikestagram #mountains #insearchofup #mountain #lightbro #shadow #shadowhunters

TCR DAY 11 – The day head winds and heat made me desperate.

This day started on the wrong foot. The road I needed to follow all day was forbidden for bicycles, so I rerouted and lost an aweful lot of time and energy going up and down. Every 10kms I had to eat some ice cream and drink litres of apple juice. I tried to find some fun along the way eating berries. But seeing my co-riders racing by like a little train on the main road made me feel helpless. I called wife and family for support. My mom gave me that typical mom’s advice:

« Why don’t you take a rest day? »  – Mom, it’s a RACE!!!

So I pedaled back to the main road to feel part of something again.

I booked a hotel 65km further, hoping that it would magically make the kms appear. Darkness fell on Southern Hungary. Thousands of mosquitoes attacked me as soon as I stopped. The nearest dot was the one of Douglas Migden. The perspective of finding some company made me pedal harder. I finally caught Doug, who was exhausted after a 300km day. Since I had a hotel booking, I suggested him to ask for availabilities there. He was lucky and took the room next to mine after trying to explain the owners the meaning of « You saved my ass ».

Then came the « Belgian milk man » episode. I found a full bottle of milk in the fridge and drank half of it before sleeping. Then I remembered not to be a dick and hit Doug’s door to share the milk. He opened, saw my bright smile, the milk bottle, and said « No thanks, I need to sleep » before closing again. This moment entered our both TCR memories and we both laughed about it in Meteora.

214km760 – 09h42 – 22,1km/h – 1065m up

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NEXT DAY >

#tcrno6 #tcrno6cap54 #transcontinental #ultracycling #cycling#roadslikethese #fromwhereiride #wanderlust #hungary #magyarország#balaton #győr #szechenyi #ride #outsideisfree #nature #travel #bikestagram #igerscycling